Things Unseen
by Crimson-Eyes26
Summary: When a deadly disease kills almost all life on Earth, the turtles, some of the few survivors on the planet, must survive in this post-apocalyptic world. But it's easier said than done when you're on the run from one of your own. Drabble, may write more depending on reviews.
1. Prologue

This all originated from a borderline-nightmare I had. What was believed to be retromutagen turns out to be a virus that kills almost all life on Earth...and the few survivors include the turtles. Left alone, the brothers have to do what they can to survive this post-apocalyptic world...but it's hard when you're on the run from one of your own. This is a drabble, but if it gets good reviews, I'll write more.

* * *

They felt alone all over again.

How long had it been? Almost a year? It felt more like a century…though they stopped counting when they finally gave up on keeping track of time. It only seemed like yesterday when they saw Baxter Stockman on television advertising his "cure" for the mutants roaming around New York…or, as he proclaimed them, "monsters". Donatello was instantly interested; did Stockman manage to create a retromutagen before he did? He figured he could get a hold of it and use it on Mr. O'Neil and Timothy, maybe even all the mutants that hated them so they would be less of a threat to them.

But of course…Stockman proved to not have the brains that Donnie did.

The so-called "retromutagen"…it ended up evolving into a powerful virus that spread through the general population via the mutants he tried to "cure" as a televised demonstration. In one day, over half of Manhattan contracted it…and all died within two or three days. The victims would undergo what looked like a mutation…and within those two or three days, their bodies would liquefy from the inside out, the virus literally destroying their genetic material. In just a week, it spread to the rest of the state…then followed the Eastern United States…then the entire country…then half of the planet…then it was clear just about no place was safe from this invisible killer. Even the Kraang were vulnerable to the disease; any that didn't get infected returned to Dimension X and never came back, much to their somewhat-relief.

So why was it they survived?

Leonardo stared around at the barren landscape that was once Madison Square Garden…noticing the deformed bones scattered along with the debris of fallen buildings and wrecked cars. For once the sun was out…but he was anything but calm. Even though he and his brothers were possibly the only ones left on the planet…he always had to have eyes in the back of his head. Sad to be hunted down by one of your own.

They never expected Donnie to be the one to snap…but everything started to go downhill when Splinter contracted the disease from contaminated water. The purple-banded turtle forced them all to wear protective gear as they tried to make the process less painful…because the genius knew he couldn't find a cure in just days. They left the room when they could hear the rat convulsing and gurgling…followed by his semi-liquid remains collapsing onto the floor. Whatever was left of him they burned on a pyre and placed in a jar. Though Mikey had nightmares, they were able to cope because they had each other.

But then…April became infected.

Donnie feverishly scrambled to find some sort of cure or treatment, but they all knew it would be in vain. This time, they didn't have time to leave the room as they watched the redhead's watery blood gush from her mouth, nose, and pores. Her body proceeded to sink in on itself…Mikey didn't stop having nightmares for months…

It only took about a week after April's demise to notice that Donatello lost all touch with reality…he stared mumbling incoherently…he began shouting at them to shut up when they didn't say a word…he started throwing scalpels at them…and then…things took a turn for the absolute worst when he found Casey and stabbed him to death, shouting that it was all his fault April and Splinter died. Still having Casey's blood fresh on his body…he turned his attention to them…and started telling them it was all THEIR fault now.

It was now about four months since their last encounter with Donnie, one that they barely survived. They always had to keep on the move…their new "home" was an abandoned Wal-Mart, where they had all the canned food they could eat. If that wasn't enough, Leo and Raph took turns going out and hunting for game such as deer or birds to cook up and eat. They even found an area in the basement to grow a makeshift garden and eat from it. Cooking was one of the ways Mikey kept his sanity…but sometimes he told them he missed Donnie even though he was crazy and would try to kill them.

Leo breathed a tired sigh as he stared at a fallen billboard that was covered in the spray-painted words "THE END IS NIGH". Well, it wasn't far from the truth; every day felt like the last. He knew during their time of hiding that Donnie probably built machines out of Baxter's old lab to hunt them down and slaughter them…but he would protect Raph and Mikey…even if it meant shedding his familial blood. That thought haunted him as he could still remember Donnie's sing-song voice from their last encounter before they moved to their current location.

_"I'm comiiing for yoooouuu, big brooootheeerrr…"_


	2. Chapter 1: As Seen on TV

Author's Note: Here's Chapter 1. The first few chapters are going to be a mix of flashbacks and the current events because I wanted to go into full detail what happened to cause the mess the turtles are stuck in now. You got the general idea, but now you'll get the full details, such as how the disease spread, how Splinter and April died, Donnie's descent into madness, Raph's blindness, Mikey's separation anxiety, and Leo's PTSD. Rate and review!

* * *

Chapter 1: As Seen on TV

Leonardo took in the scent that wafted into his nostrils; it was a scent that permanently painted itself into the air and never went away even after a year: rotting flesh that smelled like it marinated in old pond water. Of course, the pond water smell dominated the flesh smell, as all the victims were reduced to either puddles of water or gelatin. He was up on his favorite perch: an old tree in Central Park. But he knew how to keep hidden; he couldn't let himself be seen. Staring at the surprisingly-still-alive leaves of the oak tree, it made him think how funny it was that the Foot and the Kraang became the very least of their problems over this time period. But he didn't feel like laughing, or even shedding a tear. Since he felt they were the only ones left, his heart hardened…though he still felt love towards his brothers.

"Figured you'd be up here…" A voice addressed him.

Leo didn't even need to turn his head to know who the voice belonged to. "Mikey still asleep?"

Raph shrugged before he took a seat on the branch next to his brother. "Yeah, but I can't be out long. He'll start crying if he wakes up by himself; it's like he's regressed to a baby or something."

"With all that's happened, I guess he developed separation anxiety…probably just wants to make sure we're still alive." The blue-banded turtle paused and stared down at the wooden practice sword in his hands, the last reminder of Splinter. "Can't blame him, after what happened to Sensei…and then SEEING April go…"

"He wasn't the only one who had nightmares about it…" The red-banded turtle suddenly snorted. "I still can't believe all this happened because of that bastard Stockman. If…if Donnie found the cure, none of this would've happened…"

"…I know Raph, but we can't dwell on the past…" He stared into the sky, finding a few birds flying around like nothing was wrong. "We just have to do what we can now to keep on, even though we barely live a comfortable existence right now…"

Raphael sighed in resignation. "Right…gotta be careful or Donnie'll gut us…"

* * *

_Everything that day started out normal. The turtles and even April were busy watching another episode of SRMFF once the boys were done with training. This episode was a little darker than usual; the team went to a dimension where a disease killed almost all the population on the planet and the survivors went insane. Mikey started to get scared by the graphic content; maybe that was why it was labeled a 'lost' episode. The blue-banded turtle sighed when he felt the orange-banded turtle pawing at his arm before he ejected the tape halfway through the episode._

_"Aw come on Leo!" Michelangelo protested. "I-I wasn't scared!"_

_"Yeah right Mikey; you're shaking like a leaf!" Leo argued. "Let's just watch the news or something…"_

_The other turtles and April groaned; he promptly ignored them and switched to Channel 6 news. There was something boring going on the usual crime wave committed by the Purple Dragons being vanquished by 'shadowy vigilantes' when a new screen popped up; it was one of those that came on when there was some sort of live conference about something very, very important. What was it supposed to be, some presidential speech or something? No…it looked almost like it was being aired from the museum, like in one of those exposition rooms. What was going on there that was so important? They were about to find out, and they weren't going to like it._

_"Ugh, this is already boring!" The orange-banded turtle griped. "Leo, change the channel!"_

_Donnie suddenly held up his hand and put his finger to his lips. "Shh, wait! Look! Is…is that…"_

_Before the purple-banded turtle could say anymore, Carlos Chieng O'Brien Gambe came on screen amidst a crowd of people associated with the science community…and they thought they could hear a faint, almost-animalistic, noise in the background. What was going on? Did they discover a new species or something?_

_"We are coming to you live from the Manhattan Science Museum concerning a very interesting exhibition as a result of the recent monster attacks!" The reporter stated, obvious that by monster he meant mutant. "After so many of these monster sightings, everything from a giant spider to things resembling squirrels, an unlikely hero has stepped out with a solution to the problem!"_

_"Solution?" Raphael asked. "You mean…someone's found a retromutagen before Donnie?"_

_"That's crazy!" Leonardo spat. "Who could possibly have the brains to come up with a cure BEFORE Donnie!?"_

_"Ladies and gentlemen!" The elderly curator announced from a podium. "It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to our star of the day who has presented his solution to the growing creature problem! Please welcome…Mr. Baxter Stockman!"_

_Five pairs of eyes widened as they scooted closer to the television and shouted in unison, "BAXTER STOCKMAN!?"_

* * *

Leonardo heard something scrape and click, grabbing his attention. He turned his head to his right, and much to his ire, he found Raphael lighting up a menthol cigarette as if nothing was wrong. The blue-banded turtle frowned before he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Raph, do you honestly have to do that when I'm just a few inches away from you?" Leo griped, almost sounding like his old self. "And you're actually too young to be smoking anyway!"

"Leo…" Raph muttered as he blew out smoke. "Laws don't apply to us anymore; the government's dead. They never really applied to us anyway because we're mutants…"

"Still…i-it's bad for your health, now put that out! You'll get us caught!" He paused when he knew the red-banded turtle wasn't going to listen to him, so he just opted to change the subject. "…How's your eye?"

Raphael stared at him with a deadpanned look. "Seriously, Leo? You know my eye's not gonna get better; I got splashed with ACID, remember? Courtesy of good ol' Donnie…"

"…Sorry, just felt like changing the subject. I know your eye's permanently damaged, but if there's any hope for Donnie, th-then maybe he'll fix it."

The red-banded turtle stared at him, his cigarette held tightly by his lips. "Are you that much of a sap, Leo? You know as well as I do that Donnie's too far gone! The Donnie we knew before all this stuff happened is basically dead!" He suddenly cast his eyes down. "…And there's nothin' we can do about it."

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for what seemed like a long time; it was hard for Leonardo to admit that Raphael, despite his tendency to blow things out of proportion, was right. Donatello mind was far too warped to even hope to reach him and bring him back to his senses. That was proven when he threw acid at Raph's face before trying to cut Michelangelo's arm off with a rusty saw. That was part of the reason Mikey always got afraid of being alone; he was really afraid of Donnie coming to kill him when he was by himself.

"Yeah Raph…" Leo agreed dejectedly. "I know…"

* * *

_"Wait, tell me if I'm crazy!" Donatello sputtered as he rubbed at his maroon eyes. "BAXTER STOCKMAN actually managed to create a retromutagen!? Where did he even get the resources!?"_

_"Hold up Donnie." Leonardo suddenly stopped his brother from furthering his outburst. "Let's watch and see what happens. If it turns out to be defective, we have nothing to worry about, but if it turns out to work, then we can snatch it and use it on the wayward mutants; Stockman would just use it for blackmail."_

_It was at that moment Donnie stared at his eldest brother with a look the blue-banded turtle couldn't describe; he couldn't tell if he was worried or frightened. "Leo, listen to me. It may not worry you much if the retromutagen's defective…but a defective retromutagen could be even worse than the mutagen itself! What if it just turns the mutants into puddles of mush; what if it turns MR. O'NEIL into mush!?"_

_April decided to join in, now scared at what could possibly happen to her father instead of mutation. "It could turn my dad into MUSH!? I can't believe I'm saying this…but Stockman better have gotten that retromutagen right!"_

_"We can only hope, April…" Leo muttered. "If what Donnie says is true, then it's really important he does get it right."_

_Their eyes focused back on the television, when, right on cue, Baxter Stockman himself, now adorned in a labcoat, stood next to an object covered in cloth on the stage. The turtles and April could see in his hands a capped vial with a bluish-green substance, though it was more on the green side than on blue. Leo focused on Donnie's eyes and immediately knew that his brother knew something wasn't right with that retromutagen. There were camera flashes directed at Stockman as he took a bow and cleared his throat._

_"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! As you know, in the past year our beloved New York has been plagued by monsters of unknown origin; mutants if you can call them that! Why, I've had an encounter with four of these monstrosities that try so hard to pass off as human beings, but they hide themselves from mankind because they know they won't be accepted for the freaks they are!" He suddenly grinned and waved the vial around. "But after much research, I have come up with the ultimate solution to this infestation! Tonight I will demonstrate the answer to mutation reversal!"_

_"Monsters? Freaks?" Michelangelo questioned incredulously. "Hey, we're none of those! Who does Stockman think he is!?"_

_"Shut up Mikey!" Raphael growled. "Let's just see what happens!"_

_The cameras suddenly focused on whatever it was concealed by that sheet or curtain as Stockman walked towards it. Even though they didn't notice it before, the turtles and the redhead could hear what sounded like animalistic growls and snarls muffled by the fabric. The scientist smirked and used his free hand to grip the sheet. "As proof of my solution, I have captured the perfect test subject! From my studies, this poor creature was once human, but now I will give him the chance to be human once again!"_

_Stockman yanked the sheet off, revealing a large cage and the creature inside. The audience gasped at the sight of it, but the turtles and April gasped louder because they recognized this mutant…a mutant who had once been an ally, a person in need of their assistance._

_"DAD!?" April shouted._

* * *

"Raph…we'd better get back." Leo muttered, checking his surroundings for anything out of place. "The sun's coming up; Mikey'll be awake any minute now."

"Yeah, yeah…" Raph answered before he put out his cigarette and stuffed the butt in his pocket; he couldn't leave any clues that would bring Donnie closer to them. "If he starts cryin', I'm blaming you."

"Whatever." The blue-banded turtle growled before his eyes softened. "Just keep an eye out for trackers."

The two hopped down from the tree without making too much noise, using their ninja stealth to make it out of the Central Park ruins and down Park Avenue, usually ducking behind rubble and abandoned cars while trying not to trip over bones. Well, what remained of bones, anyway. Raph stayed on Leo's left due to his blindness just in case they were being watched by someone or something, but just because his left eye was dead didn't mean he couldn't defend himself anymore.

"So, what do you think we should have for breakfast?"

Leonardo glanced at him before walking forward. "We've got enough gas for the stove to fix some eggs, and we still have some deer left from my hunt yesterday, so I suppose we could eat that."

"I guess I'll fix us a pizza for dinner; that'll make Mikey happy." The red-banded turtle suddenly sighed. "He's been kinda down lately; been havin' nightmares…"

"Yeah, I noticed…"

* * *

The computer screens fizzled and flickered every few minutes, but their images were still clear as day. Beakers half full of unidentifiable substances lay strewn about, and the room smelled heavily of a mixture of laboratory chemicals and unchecked body odor. But that didn't bother him; he could care less how he looked or smelled. All that mattered to him was fresh blood…and not just any blood. His hands glided over a keyboard several times, twitching every few moments before settling down. The only music to his ears was the hum of old machinery and the fans of his computer hard drives.

His tired, bloodshot eyes blinked several times at the images of what was once New York, trying to find something. But for the past few months…he didn't find what he was looking for. No matter…during this year he learned to be patient. After all, as that old children's story went, slow and steady wins the race. He glanced over at some pods, giving the faint silhouettes a grim smile, flashing his yellowing teeth.

"You don't have to worry anymore Sensei…April…" He turned his attention back to the computer screens. "They can't hide forever…and I'll make sure to it that they'll die so you can be happy again, okay?"


End file.
